Supertouch nerd rock—excepting ladykiller guitarist BRIAN BELL, that is—homies WEEZER are alive and kicking and today dropped the second video off their recent "Red Album" for the brat anthem "Troublemaker." Highlights include dodgeball matches, the largest air guitar ensemble, and the longest Guitar Hero tour marathon, as well as head nerd RIVERS CUOMO in full cholo and OC "punk" guise. It's all for the kids, man, god bless em...

Just got back from a very long, lost weekend in Austin at LANCE ARMSTRONG's epic (and ridiculously underrated) AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL, where 40,000+ revelers gathered for three days of incredible music, beer, and BBQ. With a lineup featuring over 140 bands including ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS, BECK, FOO FIGHTERS, THE BLACK KEYS, NERD, THE MARS VOLTA, SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS, NEKO CASE, MGMT, HOT CHIP, and CSS, performing on multiple stages, the sun-drenched sonic rendezvous was only enhanced by the unparalleled coolness of the mostly Austinite crowd that still appreciates rock 'n' roll on a level rarely seen outside of Europe.

Master painter and self-described "personality portrait" artist SEBASTIAN KRUGER is a force of nature. As a classically trained painter schooled in the tradition of the old masters who just happens to be one of the world's most incredible caricaturists (and diehard rocker), it wasn't long before the two modes forever melded. The result is an unmistakably unique fine art style that that the artist has been working to refine—with incredible results—for the better part of two decades now. From his studio deep in the Black Forest of Germany (where little children are cooked and eaten in gingerbread houses), the almost impossibly prolific Krüger has cranked out a massive array of dauntingly articulate portraits of rock stars in recent years including Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, and Jimi Hendrix, to name a few, but so far, the Rolling Stones have provided his greatest inspiration. Reveling in the endless lines and crevices of the now haggard faces of the aging British rock gods, Krüger has created a lengthy series of masterpiece paintings depicting the ragged five that have formed the basis of a two volume book set on the band. Now, turning his brush to the blues legends that birthed the Glimmer Twins, the artist has just put the finishing touches on a new "Blues" series that is simply epic in detail. Paying tribute to some of the genre's foremost innovators including harp player LITTLE WALTER, and guitarists ROBERT JOHNSON, MUDDY WATERS, BB KING, ALBERT COLLINS, and "The Hook" (aka: JOHN LEE HOOKER), Krüger captures them in all their sweaty glory with a touch totally unique to the master. HAVE A LOOK:Read More

Supertouch's own EVERLAST drops his new solo album "Love, War, and the Ghost of Whitey Ford" today, marking the culmination of almost two years' worth of heavy-duty studio time. Yeah, the economy might have disintegrated this week but head over to iTunes and buy the record anyway. Believe me, you don't wanna see the guys E sends out to punish those who jack his tunes...

The music video might be a genre best considered dead and buried but both alt rock pioneers BECK and RADIOHEAD released amazing looking and amazingly different clips this month proving there might still be some life left in the three-minute rock spot after all. As expected Radiohead’s single for “House of Cards,” pushes the technological envelope, enjoying the distinction of being the first music video ever shot using lasers. Employing the incredibly high tech real time 3D scanning technologies of structured light and Lidar laser-enhanced scanners, director James Frost succeeded in creating an incredibly unique & retro-tech looking narrative (click HERE to read an in-depth making of interview). Taking their altruistic regard for fan interaction to the next level, Radiohead have released the video as an open source code file that fans are encouraged to tweek to their hearts’ content. Beck, on the other hand, has created the perfect visual accompaniment to his ‘60s-esque single “Gamma Ray” with a video that perfectly evokes Andy Warhol’s amateur movies and Silver Factory parties circa 1965 New York with a slightly modern touch...

To celebrate the release of his now-untitled new album (formerly named "Nigger") this week and his product collab with downtown hipster sneakerhead hotspot ALIFE, last great rapper alive NAS threw down a rare private live performance in the shop's back courtyard for a lucky group of friends and family Monday nite. Luckily, ever-present man on the scene MEL D. COLE was on the scene to catch some serious snaps of the quality honeys in attendance. HAVE A LOOK:Read More

That's right, as promised, NINE INCH NAILS frontman TRENT REZNOR has released the next NIN record "The Slip" as another free download available with no strings HERE. Unlike the band's recent free release, "Ghosts I—IV," however, this one doesn’t suck. Where "Ghosts" sounded like an odds 'n' sods collection of rejected atmospheric soundtrack bits, "The Slip" is a banger of a rock record in the recognizable NIN style we've all come to know and love. Yeah, there's a few throwaway instrumentals in there but it's nothing a delete key won't handle. In the words of Mr Reznor:

"'The Slip' is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license. We encourage you to: remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc."

Also, unlike "Ghosts" which had allowed users to voluntarily pay for the download in whatever charitable denomination they deemed appropriate or purchase a limited-edition hard copy of the record with additional tracks, this album is simply free, and is available for download in a variety of audio formats including the superior Lossless and Wave files. Maybe Trent felt so guilty about making over a million bucks on a crappy album he felt the need to give away a good one for free. If so, that makes us feel better after wasting $5 bucks on the last one. GET IT NOW...

French electro pop outfit JUSTICE has just released a wicked banger of a video for their single "Stress" directed by ROMAIN GAVRAS and referencing the recent spate of gang violence in the suburbs of Paris with shocking realism. "Lock your windows, close ya doors"...